Chopard’s Alta Moda Collection: When Time Wears Couture

Chopard has always been about the combination of passions. Today, it’s reflected in the partnership between siblings Karl-Friedrich and Caroline Scheufele, whose respective expertise in watchmaking and jewelry continues to shape the maison. This spirit runs much deeper in Chopard’s history, bringing together exceptional watchmaking with the artistry and meticulous finishing of high jewelry.

Because of this dual focus, Chopard has had its hand on the pulse of desire. It looks at what women actually want, as opposed to what can be produced and sold to them.

An example of this is the new Alta Moda collection—which they say is time dressed in couture—released recently after Watches and Wonders.

The Alta Moda collection was a set of jewelry watches first unveiled by the Maison in 1984 at the Montres et Bijoux de Genève Salon. It is now reinterpreted through this combination of watchmaking ability and design vision.

As with the original design, the new Alta Moda watch uses silk taffeta as a bracelet. It envelops the timepiece with softness, volume, and movement. It conveys a clear sense of joy rather than simply making a statement. The watch appears seamlessly integrated into the butterfly bow, looking like a jeweled detail on a gown. The silk taffeta ribbon used for the bracelet is the same fabric created for special creations from Caroline’s Couture collection.

Beneath, or sometimes within, the colorful bow lies the watch itself: a 24-millimeter case in 18-karat ethical white gold, pavé-set with 80 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 5.50 carats. It has a mother-of-pearl dial that, up close, adds a different shimmer and bounce of light to the surrounding diamonds. All of these elements together both draw in and reflect light as the watch sits surrounded by the moving, flowing fabric. The design allows the silk butterfly bow to be easily changed to suit different outfits and moods. The ribbon is secured by a removable clasp set in gold and diamonds.

“At Chopard, I have always loved pushing the boundaries between jewelry, watchmaking, and fashion,” says Caroline Scheufele, the co-president and artistic director of Chopard. “Alta Moda was born from my mother’s instinct in the 1980s. Revisiting this quintessentially feminine creation imagined by a woman for women felt like an obvious choice,” she said.

As the watchmaking world is seeing a move to more properly-sized pieces as opposed to attention-getters, and buyers more towards watches that speak to them rather than speak to others, this new Alta Moda collection is both a nod to the past and a breath of fresh air.

This article originally appeared in Robb Report Philippines’ Muse issue.